drama - Page 21 of 26

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Murder in Pacot (Haiti) – The Earthquake Reveals All

Murder in Pacot Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Do you want some drama? Well this film has plenty. In Murder in Pacot, Peck shines a light on all of the tensions that the earthquake revealed. You’ll hear fierce arguments from the start between Haitian’s and the NGOs, and between the middle and working classes. This is Haiti at it’s worst.

Why Watch Murder in Pacot?

It’s the fictional companion to Peck’s Fatal Assistance
There’s plenty of melodrama
It’s all shot in one household which becomes a microcosm for Haitian society (see La Soledad for a Venezuelan equivalent)
It’s a fierce attack on NGOs and Haitian society

The Breakdown

This film starts with dramatic music accompanying workers in white body suits carrying bodies pulled from the rubble. It’s 3 days since the 2010 Haiti earthquake struck and a middle-class couple are trying to get by after their house has been made almost inhabitable by officials. So they’re living in their former servants shed and need to let out their main house to try and make enough money to pay for repairs.

The person who starts renting their house is Alex, a young NGO worker from France. However, it is never clear what he does for the fictional ‘Beyond Aid’ NGO, as all he tells us is that ‘he helps’. Related image The only evidence of his work are of the photos he takes, featuring him with smiling kids reminiscent of your typical ‘gap-year’ pictures (see right). These pictures are his ‘trophies’. They symbolise his delusions that he is actually helping Haiti recover from the earthquake when he is really not helping at all.

Furthermore, Alex also has a Haitian girlfriend, Jennifer, who comes to live with him in the derelict house. She has escaped from the poor south of the country which has been devastated by the earthquake and is trying to use Alex as a way to get her to Europe.

Jennifer becomes a symbol of Haiti. Like many in Haiti, she lost her family and home in the earthquake and now she is temporarily enjoying the benefits of NGO support. She lets Alex (the NGO) take advantage of her in exchange for temporary shelter and food. She also lets her ‘brothers’ into the house when Alex is away to pleasure them. However, Jennifer, like Haiti is doomed to be exploited. She can never escape the society that she was born into and is doomed to be stuck in poverty.

Image result for murder in pacot

Conclusion

It’s clear that Peck (the director) doesn’t think much of the NGOs that came into Haiti following the earthquake. He makes Alex into a pathetic NGO worker who only works for the photos that he can share with his friends at home rather than actually committing to help change the country. In addition, Peck also attacks his fellow Haitians for taking advantage of Jennifer (our symbol of Haiti). She is free and beautiful, but is taken advantage of by men and the middle classes who are keen to keep her in her place in poverty.

102

The Merchant of Four Seasons (Germany)

The Merchant of Four Seasons Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

For ‘real’ German cinema, look no further than here. For this is the New German Cinema of the 1960s-1980s, a cinema where commercial interests were kicked out of the window. In The Merchant of Four Seasons, you will see the real Germany of the 1950s in it’s grim glory. You’ll see everything commercial films won’t show you: class prejudices, domestic violence, and depression. Watch this film if you’re intrigued!

Why Watch The Merchant of Four Seasons?

You want to see the bleakness of humanity
To see something from the New Wave of German cinema (1970s) by one of it’s leaders: Fassbinder
Was life good in Germany in the 1950s?
For some 70s film cinematography: quick zooms and close ups

The Breakdown

The film starts with Hans (our protagonist) arriving home in the middle of the night. He has just come back from Africa where he spent 7 years with the French Foreign Legion. Instead of being pleased to see him, his mother tells him off for turning up in the middle of the night. She tells him “the good die young, and the bad always come back.” What a lovely mother! What has he done to deserve this?

We learn that Hans is a fruit salesman and doesn’t earn much money. However, before you start feeling sorry for him, he is an alcoholic and a wife beater as well. So much so, that his wife nearly leaves him after he comes back from the pub drunk and beats her. Is Hans a really bad guy or someone who has been forced down a bad path? The film argues both. West Germany in the 1950s looks bleak and without much opportunity, but Hans’ alcoholism and violent nature does not help him.

More important than Hans is the story of Irmgard, Hans’ wife. She is threatened and beaten by her husband, looks after the kid by herself, and is asked how much she costs when walking along the street. She is treated as a maid and a sexual object. Irmgard’s position as the ‘German woman’ of the 1950s shows the absence of equality and respect for women at the time.

Conclusion

Fassbinder’s portrait of post-war Germany is very negative. He doesn’t seem to think much of human nature and portrays life in West Germany as pretty grim. Both the protagonists are in positions they didn’t want to be in. For a gritty look at life in post-war Germany watch this. However, if you do not want to see class prejudices, domestic violence, infidelity, family discord, depression and self-destructive behaviour, watch something else.

103

Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution

Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

This film is 6 hours shorter than Melancholia but still just as hard to watch. You may not be accustomed to long takes and films which lack dialogue, so beware. That being said, those who take the time to watch Lav Diaz will be rewarded. He brings you as close to the Filipino psyche as you can get, allowing you to feel as if you are on the streets with the characters. Think of Lav Diaz’ films like a poem, the more you try to see and interpret, the more secrets you will find.

Why Watch Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution?

To watch something that defies conventional film rules
Explore the effect of colonialism and dictatorship on the psyche of the Filipino people
For a quicker introduction to Lav Diaz than the 7.5 hour Melancholia
See the director playing electric guitar!

The Breakdown

All we see in the first shot is a road at night. Lav Diaz focuses on a zebra crossing with a restless woman pacing up and down at the other side of the crossing out-of-focus. No cars are passing down this street, it is empty. The woman lights a cigarette in frustration. As she walks a bit closer to us, we can see that she is a prostitute trying to signal a customer. Each minute, a single car approaches and she flicks back her hair and thrusts out her breasts, but she has no luck.

Just like in Melancholia each shot lingers for longer than we are used to, forcing us to observe each and every detail. As put by Lav Diaz:

I am capturing real time. I am trying to experience what these people are experiencing. They walk. I must experience their walk and I must experience their boredom and sorrows. I want people to experience the afflictions of my people who have been agonising for so long – under the Spaniards for more than 300 years, under the Americans for almost 100 years till now, under the Japanese [during WW2] and then under Marcos [and his 14 year fascist dictatorship].

Lav Diax splits Elegy to a visitor from the Revolution into three parts. An elegy to the first visit, an elegy to the last visit, and an elegy to the 2nd visit, in that order. Each part pieces together three scenes; of a prostitute, some gangsters, and a guitarist. Also, each part is visited by a ghostly figure of a woman who is the visitor from the Philippine Revolution of the late 1800s. She is a juxtaposition of the old and the modern. Her presence (and the three parts out of order) implies that Filipino history is cyclical. A cycle of colonisation/dictatorship and independence that has shaped the Filipino psyche. (Something that the recent election of brutal leader Duterte may replicate).

Conclusion

Elegy to a Visitor from the Revolution is another exploration by Lav Diaz of the Filipino psyche. Just as in Melancholia the Filipino people have not managed to escape the brutal history of colonisation and dictatorship. His long takes allow us to get as close to experiencing the silent suffering of the Filipinos.

104

Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces (Egypt)

Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

“We forgot your aunt!” *Two men appear carrying her in a bathtub complaining*

“You’re not carrying the pyramid”

“No! But at least that was one stone at a time!”

You’ll experience plenty of drama in Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces. But you’ll be transfixed throughout because of the quick-witted banter, flirting, and taunting.

Why Watch Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces?

You’re up for some Egyptian DRAMA
Learn how to cook some Egyptian dishes (perfect if you’re a cooking fan)
You’re a Norwich fan and will get a kick from seeing one of the cast members in a Norwich shirt
Or if you simply love wedding controversy and gossip!

Breakdown

Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces starts at a big celebration. The wealthiest man in town has hired the best chefs and has a big time governor as his guest of honor. But it’s obvious that none of the villagers like him. He picks problems with their cooking (even though they’re the experts) and takes offence at them calling him by his nickname. One thing is already clear from this opening – there’s going to be drama!

The film flashes back maybe a year earlier and follows the chefs from the opening scene. They’re getting ready for a big wedding. During the preparations one of the top chefs sees one of his old crushes return to the neighborhood from abroad. There’s also a secret marriage and plenty of extra-marital flirting. You just know there’s going to be trouble! If you like this kind of trouble this film might just be for you!

Conclusion

Just like in After the Battle Yousry Nasrallah’s Brooks, Meadows, and Lovely Faces has plenty of juicy drama. There’s plenty of controversy, comebacks, and tension. If that’s your thing, you better find this film and watch it now!

105

Hail Mary – Jean-Luc Godard + The Bible

What does a radical filmmaker do when the energy of the New Wave is fading? He makes a film about the Virgin Mary and Joseph to provoke controversy from the Catholic Church.

Hail Mary Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

So what does a radical filmmaker do when the verve of the New Wave is over? He makes Hail Mary, a film about the Virgin Mary and Joseph to provoke controversy from the Catholic Church.

From: France, Europe
Watch: Trailer, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: The Passion of Christ, Children of Men, Second Coming